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CoBank in Greenwood Village makes $10B available in new USDA program

Greenwood Village-based CoBank is earmarking $10 billion for a new public-private partnership focused on infrastructure investment for the nation's rural core, it said in a joint announcement Thursday with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Tagged as the U.S. Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund, it will be a critical source of private-money funding for projects in rural communities, and — in partnership with the USDA — will expand the amount of dollars typically available.

Put simply, it's a way for larger blocks of cash to be made available for larger blocks of funding needs.

"This fund represents a new approach to our support for job-creating projects across the country," U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in announcing the program in Washington, D.C. USDA "resources are finite and there are backlogs of projects in many parts of the economy."

The fund would allow for borrowers to finance projects exceeding USDA limits or where the agency hasn't sufficient resources.

Targeted projects would include community facilities, water systems, energy projects and broadband, all to service rural locations.

"To remain competitive, we must develop innovative financing strategies that will ensure infrastructure investment keeps pace with the needs of agriculture and other key rural industries," CoBank CEO Robert Engel said in a statement.

The new fund will allow for additional investors, which could include pension funds, endowments, institutional investors and other private money sources.

It will be managed by investment firm Capitol Peak Asset Management and allow for investors to pool funds into a variety of projects rather than just one or two. The firm will seek the additional investors.